Happy Monday! Here at the Cute Suite we’ve started off the week in shades of grey (with some rain thrown in) and so I thought it appropriate to do a mostly grey post today, and show you some stone carvings. Carvings, some simple, some more intricate, of floral and plant motifs – enjoy!

Starting with a rather exquisite carving which can be found on Carrer Doctor Dou. I’m amazed at how seamlessly the various pieces are joined on this door piece to form a delicate, yet intricate leafy carving.

Below a gorgeous bas-relief in light green and terra cotta red of the flower I most associate with Spain: the carnation. Not my favourite flower, I must admit, but this rendering is so pretty. Do you like carnations?

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Carrer Hospital

Two simple leafy and floral carvings with a rougher texture (particularly the one above) which I like a lot. The one on Carrer Hospital, because it seems like years of grime have settled in the grooves of the carving to add more texture to it, and the one below, on Carrer Notariat, because I see them every day, and they depict cute, yet simple flowers.

Carrer Notariat

Gran de Gràcia

More bas-reliefs, above and below. Not sure which flower has been chosen above (do you?) but I love its rounded shape and the way the patterns of both leaf and flower repeat themselves. Note how different the carved leaves are above the windows – much more realistic!

The thistle below, a flower much used in the Middle Ages, and therefore evocative of this period (which was glorified in Catalunya’s Modernisme art stream) can clearly be spotted among the carved foliage and other elements on the façade of this building in Carrer Boqueria.

Carrer Boqueria

Carrer Notariat

More foliage set in stone. This little palm tree in Carrer Notariat is probably my favourite. Simply because palm trees are my favourite kind of tree. But apart from that fact, I really like the simplicity of this carving and how with a few ‘strokes’ of the chisel this lovely tree has been brought to life.

Carrer Nou de Sant Francesc

A handful of oak leaves grace the surround to a set of doors on Carrer Nou de Sant Francesc, and add a bit of frill to an otherwise relatively simple entrance.

La Rambla

Two very lush curly sets of leaves – the one above graces the entrance to a hotel on La Rambla; the one below, frames a window on the lower part of a palatial building on Gran de Gràcia. My guess is, that thanks to the very graphic line of zig zags that has been inserted into this roll, this is depicting a roll of fern leaves, with the zig zags hinting at the spores that can be found at the underside of these gorgeous leaves. Lovely aren’t they?